Quarterly Essay 8 Groundswell

Who are the Greens, where do they come from and where are they going? In the wake of the Cunningham by-election and the Tasmanian results Amanda Lohrey, novelist and political thinker, looks at the philosophical background of the Greens, the history of the campaigns to save the wilderness and the election figures that suggest the Greens are making powerful advances towards becoming the major 'minor' party in Australia. This is a compelling portrait of the Greens and of their leader Bob Brown which depicts them as the most formidable attempt that has been made on the Left to deal with the damage of globalisation.


"Bob Brown in Amanda Lohrey's characterisation is certainly a man for all seasons. She emphasizes the skepticism as well as the spirituality and the kind of personal integrity that can hush a House of Parliament by force not of charisma but of conviction." —Peter Craven, Introduction


"In Australia it is the Green, not the Democrats, who have emerged as the authentic representatives of this developing constituency ... They are not a collection of ersatz Liberals .. [they] are clear on the bottom-line accounting ... There is a crucial sense in which the Greens know where they come from." —Amanda Lohrey, Groundswell